It’s #TakeYourDogToWorkDay – And I Totally Got Involved

If you follow my social media pages, you’ll realize that I am quite obsessed with my almost two-year-old puppy Olive. I adopted her from the incredible guys at Dogtown and Barking Mad and we have been inseparable ever since. Well, almost. You see, while I work, she plays around with her brother Fudge and her sister Honey. But, Pedigree South Africa contacted me recently and told me that today is Take Your Dog To Work Day – and challenged me to take part.

But, it’s a bit difficult for me as a freelancer to take Olive everywhere. Although I am sure my family at People Magazine South Africa and Warner Music South Africa would love some canine company, my day is often filled with boardroom meetings. Luckily, like today, my day is pretty flexible and consists of me creating content and replying to e-mails. So, I went out to one of my favourite dog-friendly restaurants, Voodoo Lily Café, to get some work done and spend time with my beloved pooch.

What I love about Voodoo Lily Café is that they understand and love the fact that people want to spend time with their dogs. With a seriously good selection of coffee and food, Voodoo Lily are more than happy to bring your furry friend a dog bowl with some water and allow you to spend some quality time together outside of the house.

Now, this international Bring Your Dog To Work Day intrigued me. Who wouldn’t want to bring their best friend to work, right? I recently did some digging and I found that significant research has been undertaken internationally, from a variety of organisations, which has shown that having dogs in the workplace can reduce employee stress, promote healthier lifestyles, as staff take more breaks to walk dogs in the day, and improve general office morale and loyalty to the company – and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense!

The research adds that seven in ten employees and HR departments agree that allowing pets in the workplace has a positive impact on employees. Most millennials (employees aged 18-35) support pet-related policies and 60% say they are more likely to keep working at a company that implements pet-friendly policies.

So, it seems the world is opening its mind to the idea that bringing your dog to work is expected to not only boost your morale, but increase productivity as well. Now, naturally, this wouldn’t work for all dogs but as long as your pup was healthy, non-aggressive, vaccinated, toilet trained and socialised – you’d be good to go.

Plan on bringing your dog to work? Here are some more tips to ensure that everything runs smoothly:
o Make sure your company is happy for you to bring your dog to work
o Make plans to have your pet groomed and nails clipped
o Pack food, treats, bowls, a leash, paper towels, clean-up bags, and pet-safe disinfectant
o Don’t let your dog chew on cords or other items that could be harmful, bring him a chew toy instead
o Use a leash, gate or travel box to keep your dog secure
o Remember to give your dog fresh water throughout the day, eat lunch together and give him/her a treat
o Remember a short walk can refresh and energize your dog (and yourself)
o Never leave your pup unattended at work

I love the idea of taking your dog to work. Not only did Olive and I get to spend some quality time together, but the experience really made me feel good. I love having her around me and I know she enjoyed the outing as well. While #TYDTWD has become a yearly thing, I have a feeling Olive and I are going to be doing it way more often.